akrvbob said:
If you have a 1999-2008 Ford, spark plugs are a nightmare. Thank your great Ford Engineers for that.
Yep! I have one of those very vehicles! Removing the spark plugs are bad enough but one of Fords "better ideas"(that should date me some) was the introduction of COPS or coil over plugs. Since your(GypsyDogs) engine is very computerized now Ford thought it would be super awesome to get rid of the distributor and instead of having ONE coil they put a miniature one on each plug. Usually one of the COPS fouls making things run like crap and MANY repair shops(not only dealerships) will replace ALL of them rather than just the one that fouls. That's where the major expense of that $950 repair job came in and yes, misfiring COPs can cause bad things to injectors because of the inefficient burning of fuel but I'm suspicious of that charge regardless because you'd have had to drive for quite awhile on the bad ones(or lug your vehicle a lot) in order for that to have occurred. Even with the guy driving this one for months in town didn't gum up the injector but the IAC valve(idle air control) sure got plugged up nasty! Luckily that was an easy fix with a $37 part.
I had an opposite experience; a plug fouled causing the COP to eventually mis-spark. Ran like crap in town and better on the highway. Luckily I was referred to a wonderful shop in Utah(which I'll be stopping by again on my way down in Nov) who identified the problem and swapped out both the bad COP and spark plug with used ones from an engine rebuild they had just completed. An honest shop and the used parts fairy all in one.
Mind you there are a couple of caveats in my decision to go the used parts route and I did take a gamble:
1) We were assuming that the one that failed was a bad apple and by installing a used one it would even things up.
2) Usually all will be replaced to avoid multiple trips(and shop charges) should other COPs/plugs foul at different intervals later(and they will! - Murphy).
3) Electrical stuff is just weird and components of the same system seem to play better when they are of similar age.
If you decide to grab some spares at a junkyard you'll need to watch some videos on how to do it proper so you don't damage the COP as you pull it off but having spares can save you a bundle down the road.
My gamble has paid off; one year and no issues. I'll be looking for a pre-1998 van when I go shopping later. :angel:
